Premji earmarks 34% Wipro shares for philanthropy

Bengaluru: IT czar and Wipro Chairman Azim Premji has earmarked 34 per cent of Wipro Ltd shares worth market value of Rs 52,750 crore or $7.5 billion for philanthropy, a statement said on Wednesday.

"Azim Premji has increased his commitment to philanthropy, by irrevocably renouncing more of his personal assets and earmarking them to the endowment, which supports Azim Premji Foundation's philanthropic activities," the city-based Foundation said in a statement.

With his new commitment, Premji's total contribution to the philanthropic endowment corpus is Rs 145,000 crore ($21 billion), which includes 67 per cent of economic ownership of Wipro Ltd, according to the statement.